Lullaby
by Deplora
Summary: FINISHED Semisequel to Blind Instinct After the horror that was Squall's injuries months before, he and Yuffie have finally gotten their happy ending. their 'happily ever after' becomes happier when Yuffie discovers she is pregnant... or does it?
1. Chapter One: Surprise!

_Author's Note: Okay, this isn't exactly a sequel to "Blind Instinct" because a sequel would involve some end that I didn't tie up in the first part. Therefore, this is more like an extension of where that one left off. Does that make any sense? In other words, you need not have read "Blind Instinct" to understand what's going on in this one._

_Summary: Continues where the epilogue of "Blind Instinct" left off. Actually, it starts about a month BEFORE the epilogue of BI. So, I'm kinda backtracking a little. Um... as you know if you read BI, Yuffie was pregnant in the epilogue and this kinda takes you through that. However, life isn't always "rainbows and butterflies" to quote Maroon 5. _

_Timeframe: About a month before the epilogue for "Blind Instinct"_

_[Disclaimer: The formal, first chapter disclaimer._ _I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do not own the characters portrayed in this story. They all belong to their rightful owners of Disney and SquareEnix. So, therefore, please do not sue me for borrowing them.]_

* * *

_LULLABY_

_Chapter One: Surprise!_

"I don't know what's wrong with me, Aerith," Yuffie muttered as she sat down upon the stone bench in the small flower garden the flower girl tended. Both young women wore a heavy coat wrapped tightly around their bodies and the younger of the two briefly wondered how her older friend was going to make these flowers grow in the cold November weather of Hollow Bastion. But, then she remembered that Aerith had told her the flowers she had planted thrived on cold weather.

Aerith looked up from the plot of soil she was aerating to look up at the ninja, worry written across her face. "What do you mean, Yuf?" she asked softly as she rose from the ground and dusted herself off before setting on the bench next to Yuffie.

Sighing, Yuffie turned towards her friend and pulled her feet up onto the bench as well, wrapping her arms around them and resting her head upon her knees. "I don't know. I've just been kinda tired lately... sluggish-like and kinda nauseous, too," she explained, sighing again as she did so. "I think I'm coming down with the flu or something."

The flower girl bit her lip and stared down at the ground while she tried to gather her thoughts. She wanted to get her wording right before she suggested to Yuffie what she was about to suggest to her. "Uh... Yuffie, you and Leon haven't been using any... uh.... protection, have you?" she asked nervously, trying to keep the blush from her cheeks.

Unlike Aerith, Yuffie couldn't fight the blush that crept up her necks and covered her face in a vibrant shade of red. "Is that really any of your business, Aerith? I mean, come on..." she trailed off when she realized what the flower girl was getting at. "OH GAWD!! You don't think... No, I can't be..."

"So, I take it you hadn't thought of that yet?" Aerith replied, quirking a chestnut eyebrow as she stared at her friend. "One last question. You're not late or anything, are you?"

Indigo eyes widening, Yuffie started adding up the days on her fingers. "Uh... what's today's date again?" she asked quietly, hoping that she was wrong about the date, _wanting_ to be wrong about the date.

"November fifteenth," the flower girl answered, looking out across the flower bed and staring at the fields beyond the castle gates.

"Shit!" the ninja exclaimed loudly, dropping her head and beginning to beat it upon her knees. She stopped her self-abuse and dropped her head back down, closing her eyes and beginning to wonder what she was going to tell Squall and, more importantly, _how _she was going to tell him. He had never mentioned children. For all she knew, he'd be mad at _her _for this. But she had to tell him. This wasn't something she could keep from him.

Aerith's dulcet voice interrupted Yuffie's thoughts, causing her to look up at the woman with tired eyes. "I take it that you are late, then?" Not waiting for an answer, the flower girl continued on. "We don't know for certain that you're pregnant, Yuf. I mean, this _could_ just be a flu you're coming down with and you _could _just be late this month. It happens sometimes," Aerith consoled, reaching out and rubbing the ninja's back. "I could do the rabbit test if you want me to."

Nodding, Yuffie dropped her feet back to the ground and slowly rose to her feet, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves as she did so. "Yeah, I'd appreciate that, Aerith," she mumbled as she started walking for the castle doors. "Um... I'm going to go back in for now. I have some that I need to do."

"Yuffie?" Aerith called, running up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder to help comfort her. "Everything will be okay, you know? Things happen for a reason, whether you're pregnant or not. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" She dropped her hand from the girl's shoulder after giving it a reassuring squeeze. "And when you're ready for the rabbit test, just tell me."

The ninja nodded her assent and left the flower girl alone in her flower garden, just wanting to be alone for a moment to collect her thoughts. "What a way to celebrate my birthday," she muttered as she shut the door behind her and leaned against it, remembering that her seventeenth birthday was just in five days. "Gawh... sixteen years old and I'm pregnant?!"

Realizing that she had said that last part a bit loudly, she cowered and looked around the large room to see if anybody else was there. Luck was with her, though, as the room was completely empty. She assumed that Squall and Cloud were either repairing some of the upper rooms or exterminating the pests that had made their home within the Bastion walls. Yuffie also remembered that Cid had mentioned that he and Shera would be working on the electricity within the castle as it had begun to shut itself off occasionally, causing the occupants to nearly freeze during the night. Of course, all of them did have the comfort of sharing body heat with their respective lover.

"Argh! Focus, Yuffie! Focus!" the ninja yelled when she realized that she was letting her thoughts wander away from what she really needed to think about. But every time she _did_ think about the fact that she was pregnant, her mind just felt so clouded... like there was a fog blocking out her thoughts to protect herself.

Slowly, she walked towards the large staircase and started up it, deciding that she would go lay down on hers and Squall's bed for awhile to try and think about it. Step by painstakingly slow step, she climbed the staircase, but stopped halfway up and let out a frustrated half-growl, half-scream. "I don't want to be pregnant, goddammit! I didn't ask for this! I'm only sixteen!"

A choked sob escaped her throat and she dropped onto the step she was standing on, not caring that she was crying in the middle of the staircase where anyone could find her. But no one did. And after all her tears had escaped and her eyes were dry, she got back up to her feet and finished climbing the staircase.

In the bedroom, she was relieved to find it empty like she thought it would be and slowly took her coat off, throwing it across the chair in the room. She lay down upon the bed and drew the covers around herself, curling up into a protective ball. She spent the next few hours simply lying there and staring off into space, still wondering how she was going to tell Squall.

* * *

Squall slowly turned the doorknob to the bedroom he shared with Yuffie, wondering if perhaps she was in there. He hadn't seen her since early that morning and when he had asked Aerith if she knew where his lover was, the flower girl had simply told him that Yuffie was feeling a little ill today. So, he had decided that he would check the bedroom to see if she had returned to bed.

And luck was with him, for upon entering the room, his gaze fell upon the small lump underneath the covers. He crept over to the bed and sat down gently, not wanting to make the bed shift too much when he did so. "Aerith said you're feeling sick today," he whispered, pulling the covers away from her face and brushing the ebony hair off her forehead.

Sighing, Yuffie slowly sat up, keeping her eyes downcast and staring at the jacquard pattern upon the burgundy bedspread. "Squall... I'm late," she muttered, finally lifting her eyes to stare into his.

"Late for what?" he asked confusedly, his brows furrowing as he tried to think of anything that she might possibly be late for. As far as he knew, she had had no engagements with any of the other residents of Hollow Bastion, but, then again, Aerith might have been expecting her for dinner or something.

"No, Squall... I'm late," she said again, dragging out the word 'late' and adding extra emphasis to it. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to respond.

"What are you talking about, Yuffie?"

Yuffie threw her head back and stared at the ceiling for a minute, trying to keep herself calm. "You know that monthly visitor I get... it's a week late," she finally said in exasperation, hoping he would get it this time.

Apparently he did as his stormy blue eyes became huge and rapidly blinked a few times. "Are you sure?" he questioned when he found his voice again, taking one of her hands in his and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Well, I'm sure that I'm late if that's what you mean," she muttered sarcastically, looking down at their hands and intertwining her fingers with his. "Aerith said she would do the rabbit test for me whenever I wanted her to... to find out if I am pregnant or not." She kept her eyes downcast and refused to meet his gaze, afraid of what she would see if she did look into his eyes.

Seeing her nervousness, Squall reached out and gently cupped Yuffie's chin, forcing her to lift her head and look at him. "Yuffie, you know that I love you. And pregnant or not, I will always love you," he whispered, leaning over to place a soft kiss upon her forehead.

"You aren't mad at me?" she rasped, her eyes filling with tears as she stared at him. The look in his eyes told her that he wasn't mad, but she need reassurance... just something to tell her that his eyes weren't lying.

"Mad?" Squall asked in slight confusion, giving her one of his not-so-rare anymore smiles. "Why would I be mad at you? You didn't do this alone, you know." He let out a soft chuckle and moved his hand from her chin to her cheek, gently brushing away a tear that had fallen.

"I just... I just can't believe... I mean, you always used to say that the _last _thing this world needed was more of you," she sighed, remembering how he had always said he would hate to see anyone as hardhearted as him as she fell backwards onto the bed and staring at the ceiling.

Squall soon followed suit, laying beside her and drawing her to him with his arm placed gently across her stomach. "But, Yuffie," he whispered in her ear, brushing her hair out of the way, "more of you would be a good thing." Kissing the spot right below her ear, he saw a small smile come across her face.

Yuffie snuggled up against him, relief washing over her as she realized that he wasn't mad at her, that he actually seemed to want this baby even if she wasn't sure about it yet. She reached a hand back and rested it on the nape of his neck, playing with his mahogany locks. "You're so sweet," she murmured, turning her head to kiss his chin. "But what if he or she _is _like you?"

"Doesn't matter," he soothed, moving his hand beneath her shirt so he could trace light circles on her skin. "I'd still love both you and he or she. Besides, we can always hope my genes are recessive."

"Considering my tendencies, they probably are," Yuffie giggled, surprising herself that she could find something funny after being depressed for so long today. Sighing, she pulled away from Squall's arm and sat up, drawing her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around them. "Anyways, you wanna go downstairs with me and get some dinner? I haven't eaten since this morning."

Squall looked out the window and saw the endless night sky of the Hollow Bastion world, letting out a big sigh as he did so. "That was _hours_ ago, Yuffie," he muttered, standing up and grabbing her hands to hoist her to her feet. "And I know your stomach. How did you manage to go that long without food?"

The ninja wrinkled her nose and quirked her mouth to the side, biting her cheek as she did so. "I wasn't exactly feeling too well. I mean, I was already nauseous and then I found out that I'm probably pregnant... that kinda ruined my appetite," she explained as she tiredly leaned against his arm, yawning as she did so.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, the swordsman led her out of the room and down the stairs towards the kitchen. "Well, I think Aerith was cooking some soup earlier," he told her as they descended the stairs. "If we're lucky, Cid and Cloud didn't finish it off."

"In other words, we're going to have to scrounge around in there for scraps?" she muttered sarcastically, knowing that both the blonde swordsman and the gummi pilot had horrendous appetites. Sure enough, when they arrived in the kitchen, the only thing edible they found were a few slices of bread and some cheese in the refrigerator, which Squall quickly made into grilled cheese sandwiches after he insisted she sit at the table while he did so.

* * *

After two days of anxious waiting for the rabbit test to be completed, Yuffie and Squall sat in the dining hall while Aerith did the last part of the test... kill the bunny and examine its ovaries, which had been injected with a small amount of the ninja's urine. Sitting sideways in her chair, Yuffie leaned back until she had her head lying in Squall's lap and he began to slowly run his fingers through her hair.

Hearing the door open, Yuffie jumped back up, nearly hitting her head on the underside of the table as she did so. "So... did you kill the rabbit?" she asked, wondering how on earth the gentle flower girl would manage to do so.

"No... I had Shera do it for me," Aerith answered, grimacing as she thought about the pitiful squeal the creature had made as it died, and then all the blood afterwards. "So, do you still wanna know the test results?"

"No, Aerith... I've decided that I really don't care if I'm gonna grow to the size of a whale or not," the ninja muttered sarcastically as she rolled her eyes and stared at her friend. "Of course I want to know." She felt Squall pull her out of her chair and onto his lap, resting his head upon her shoulder. The feel of his breath brushing against her ear made her squirm slightly, finally stopping when she settled down a little lower and his breath no longer went across the sensitive spot.

"Well, Aerith?" Squall asked quietly, just as nervous as Yuffie even if he didn't show it as much as his lover did.

The flower girl folded her hands in front of her and took a deep breath to steady her own nerves. "The results came back positive, Yuffie. You're pregnant."

Before Yuffie could say anything, Squall had jumped up with her still in his arms, turning her around in the process, and began to spin her around the room. He stopped before either of them became too dizzy, setting his lover down upon her feet and kissing her hard, his hands going down to her waist and pulling her tightly to him. Neither of them noticed when Aerith left the room.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, chapter one of Lullaby... the quasi-sequel to Blind Instinct. Anyways, I hope you guys liked it and weren't too confused with the fact that I went back to before the epilogue of Blind Instinct..._

_Okay, so review for me. And for the readers of Honor Amongst Thieves, I am currently working on the next chapter of that._


	2. Chapter Two: Just Too Damned Good

_Author's Note: I had a dream kinda about this story last night. Really, I did. Okay, so it was more of a Yuffentine dream than a Squffie dream. But, still... So, anyways, now I have the urge to work on it. But, I also have the urge to work on the next chapter of HAT. :::sigh::: This always happens when I have more than one story active._

_Note to OctoberBreeze: Actually, October, this IS the sequel thingy I was talking about, but it's not a real sequel since :::pulls out Webster's Dictionary:::.... hmm.... okay, so it IS a sequel according to the definition, but I'm calling it a semi-sequel because you don't need to have read Blind Instinct to know what's going on. Did I make any sense or did I just confuse myself? O.o_

* * *

_Chapter Two: Just Too Damned Good_

__Groaning, Yuffie rolled over onto her side and stared out the window of her room, watching as the fluffy snowflakes floated through the air and covered the Bastonian landscape in a field of white. She snuggled deeper into the pile of blankets upon the bed and carefully placed a hand across her stomach. What she had told Aerith a few days before was only slight nausea had grown to full-blown nausea and the slightest movement made her nearly vomit. It didn't help that she felt like she was freezing to death since the electricity had gone out _again_ and the fire roaring in the fireplace didn't seem to be putting out much heat.

Another violent shiver coursed through her body, which caused her nausea to grow, and she wondered how long it could possibly take for Cid and Shera to get the power running again. Reaching a hand out from underneath her blankets, she grabbed one of the saltine crackers Squall had brought up for her earlier that morning. In the past few days, she had discovered that these were the only things that would help to settle her stomach. Well, that and the clear lemon-lime sodas Shera had recommended to her. In fact, that's where Squall was now... retrieving a soda for her since she felt too sick to get up and go downstairs herself.

A long, drawn out sigh escaped her lips as she thought about her current situation again. The thought of being pregnant still scared her to no end, but with Squall being more happy than she had _ever _seen him, it was hard not to get caught up in his excitement. But, still, there were times when she wished she wasn't pregnant... like right now, when all she could think about was the unrelenting nausea.

The sound of the bedroom door creaking open caused her to slowly turn her head to find Squall trying to walk soundlessly into the bedroom. It didn't work, though, as his heavy boots thumped loudly on the floor. He sat the glass he carried upon the night stand, the ice tinkling as he did so, and then sat himself down upon the edge of the bed, brushing the hair out of her face before leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Do you feel any better?" he whispered as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"As long as I don't move, I feel okay," she murmured, reaching out for the glass which he quickly handed to her. With one hand, he helped her sit up slightly so she could get a sip without spilling it all over herself. But the movement caused her nausea to act up again and she had to close her eyes and choke the rising bile back down before she _could _take a drink.

"That bad, huh?" Squall asked softly as he helped lower her back down to the mattress, pulling the covers back up to her chin when he saw her shiver.

Yuffie nodded mutely, her eyes still closed as she tried to will the nausea away, but to no avail. It stubbornly stayed with her. But, she knew that relief would come later in the day when it would disappear, only to return again the next morning. "It doesn't help that I'm freezing," she muttered, curling into a ball to help fight off the chills.

Noticing that the blankets weren't helping much, Squall took his boots off and then crawled under the covers with her, gently pulling her back up against him and wrapping an arm around the front of her shoulders. "Does that help?" he breathed into her ear before resting his cheek atop hers.

The wave of nausea that had come up when he moved her soon passed and she pushed herself back against him further. "Mm hmm," she murmured as the chills that had plagued her all morning disappeared in the presence of his warmth.

"I'm sorry you have to spend your birthday like this," the swordsman apologized as he curled his other arm gingerly around her waist, careful not to put much pressure on her stomach.

Indigo eyes flew open, surprise clearly present in them as she pulled her head out from beneath his cheek and turned slightly to stare at him. "Today's my birthday? I thought it wasn't until tomorrow..." she trailed off, her brows furrowed as she struggled to remember the date.

"No, today's the twentieth," he reminded her, sitting up slightly so he could put a hand on the back of her neck and pull her in for a kiss. "Happy birthday, Yuffie," he murmured as his lips met hers in what started as a sweet, gentle kiss but soon deepened into something more fiery and passionate.

Unfortunately, as Squall was kissing her, a wave of nausea came over her that she couldn't choke down and she had to jerk away from him to rush down the hall to the bathroom. Squall soon followed after, grimacing each time he heard her retch yet somehow managing to stay in there with her and get her a damp wash cloth.

Groaning, Yuffie stood up and placed her hands on either side of the sink, leaning down on it as she stared in the mirror. "I hate doing that," she muttered, grabbing her toothbrush and squirting a large glob of the mint-flavored toothpaste upon. While she vigorously scrubbed all traces of the bile out of her mouth, Squall stood behind her and rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"But you probably feel better now, don't you?" he asked, a small smile tugging at his lips as he looked over her shoulder to see the reflection of her face in the mirror.

Yuffie pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth, about to answer him, when the bathroom light flicked on above them. She muttered a quick prayer of thanks to whoever was listening and finished with her teeth. "Yes, I feel better for _now_, but it's going to come back. If not today, then tomorrow morning," she finally answered as she turned back around, yawning lightly as she did so.

"If I could, I'd be sick for you," Squall whispered, reaching down to grab her hand with his own and bring it to his lips, kissing the knuckle of each finger.

Rolling her eyes, the ninja leaned forward slightly and rested just her forehead against his chest, deeply breathing in his scent. "Yeah, you say that _now_," she mumbled into his shirts, lifting her arms to wrap around his chest. "But if you _were_ sick, you'd probably be complaining constantly."

Squall gently grasped her waist, picking her up and setting her upon the bathroom counter so they were eye-level. "Just because I _might_ have been a little hard to get along with when I had the virus a few weeks ago doesn't mean I'm always like that when I'm sick," he retorted, leaning his forehead against hers and staring into her eyes.

"Liar," the ninja mumbled sleepily, briefly closing her eyes. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before as she had been up late... just thinking... about everything. And then this morning, the nausea and cold had awakened her early. And then there was the fact that she was pregnant and that was making her tired. Overall, she was exhausted and she hadn't even done anything yet today.

Noticing that his ninja appeared to be falling asleep just sitting there, the swordsman scooped her up into his arms and carried her back down the hall to their room. He smiled when her arms automatically locked around his neck and she snuggled closer to him, her eyes still closed but a sleepy smile on her face. By the time they had reached the bedroom, Squall noticed that Yuffie's breathing had deepened and was even, signaling that she was already asleep. He slowly lowered her down onto the mattress, making sure the blankets covered her as the room had yet to warm up even with the electricity running again.

After leaning down to kiss her forehead, he turned to leave but stopped when he felt her hand grab his. "Stay with me?" Yuffie asked quietly, her eyes about halfway open and the lids slowly beginning to droop down once more.

"Of course," Squall murmured, sliding beneath the blankets and laying on his back.

Yuffie cuddled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder and throwing one arm across his waist. "I don't deserve you," she muttered sleepily.

Bringing his arm up and around her back, he rested his hand upon her hip, squeezing it gently while his other hand moved to cover the one she had placed on his stomach. "You deserve so much better than me, Yuffie. So much better," he whispered, knowing she couldn't hear him as she was already asleep.

* * *

"Happy birthday to you," the rest of Hollow Bastion sang loudly and out of key as Yuffie sat at the dining room table, smiling at everyone and staring at the huge cake Aerith and Shera had made earlier in the day. Squall was standing right behind her chair, his hands resting on her shoulders and one of hers resting upon his.

Taking a deep breath, Yuffie managed to blow out all seventeen candles and started to slice the cake, cutting herself a hefty piece as she hadn't had much to eat that day. "You really didn't need to do this, guys," she told them, taking a bite of the chocolate cake and changing her mind when she tasted it. "But, then again, yeah... You really needed to do this."

Aerith laughed as she carried the multi-colored wrapped presents in from the other room and sat them on the table. "I'm glad you like it, Yuf. Shera and I had to go through countless recipes to find one we thought you'd like," she explained, passing a pink wrapped gift to the ninja.

"Like it? I _love_ it!" Yuffie exclaimed, taking another bite of the cake to prove her point. She picked up the pink gift, knowing who it was from without looking at the tag since only Aerith would wrap something in pink. "From you, I presume?"

Smiling, Aerith nodded, gesturing towards the rather large box with her hands. "Just open it," she insisted, rolling her bright green eyes as she sat down next to Cloud and took a slice of cake for herself.

"Yuffie, before you _do_ open it, let me warn you that Aerith _insisted_ that we get it for you. I had no choice whatsoever in the matter," Cloud warned, stealing a bite from the flower girl's plate and ignoring her as she playfully tried to swat his fork away.

"Uh-oh," the ninja muttered, suddenly very aware of how many times her brunette friend would give her something completely useless for herself. She hesitantly opened the box and looked down to find it full of various bath oils and salts. Wondering when she would ever use those as she was never one to take long baths, Yuffie put on a bright smile for her friends. "Thank you _so _much, Aerith. I love them."

The pink-clad woman elbowed her blonde-haired love in the side, raising her eyebrows and glaring at him. "See? I told you she'd like it," Aerith told him, giving him the 'I told you so' look as she did so.

"Okay, okay... you win," Cloud muttered, rubbing his ribs where her elbow had connected. "Just don't hurt me anymore."

Aerith rolled her eyes and muttered a quick cure spell under her breath, directing it towards the blonde swordsman. "Better?"

"Much."

Cid pushed away from the wall, shaking his head sadly as he stared at the two couples sitting at the table. "Buncha wimps," he muttered as he picked up smaller box wrapped in blue paper and handed it to Yuffie. "This is from Shera and me."

Carefully unwrapping the paper, Yuffie was suddenly aware of Squall's breath on her ear as he kneeled behind her chair and placed his head on her shoulder. She turned her head suddenly and kissed his cheek, temporarily ignoring the gift in her hands. Just as she was about to whisper something to him, the Gummi pilot interrupted her.

"Just open the damn present, already," he hollered gruffly as he leaned against the wall once more, Shera standing next to him, who immediately slapped the back of his head. "Goddammit woman, what was that for?"

"I've told you, Cid, you need to watch your mouth," she answered as she once again hit him upside the head.

Sighing, Yuffie turned her attention back to the flat box in her hands, carefully taking the lid off of it. She let out a soft gasp when she saw what was inside it. Reaching in, she very gingerly pulled out one of the many gold-edged ninja stars within, holding it up and watching the light play off the surface. "It's beautiful," she whispered, finding herself at a loss for words. "Where in the world did you find them?"

"Shera and I made them," Cid muttered kind of shy-like, not used to his creations being awed over. Of course, most of the other things he had made had not been so decorative. That's where Shera's part came in.

"Thank you so much, guys," Yuffie murmured quietly, carefully placing the star back down with its brethren in the box. Putting the box down on the table with Aerith's gift, she turned back to Squall. "And what about you?" she asked playfully, not really caring if he gave her anything or not. Really, in her mind, he had already given her so much more than she had ever dreamed of having by just being there with her, by just loving her.

"Later, Yuffie. I'll give it to you later," he whispered, planting a kiss on her cheek before rising and taking a seat next to her at the table.

Snorting, Cid crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the two of them. "You already let her have it," he said suggestively, ducking as he saw Shera's hand coming towards his head once more. "Woman..."

Yuffie and Squall simply ignored him, going back to eating their cake. The next hour was spent in conversation as the six of them remembered past parties held within the Bastion walls... before the Heartless had eclipsed this world. As the sky darkened outside, Squall finally drew Yuffie away from the others and towards the doors leading to the small flower garden outside.

"Let's go outside for a little bit," Squall whispered, taking both her hands in his and pulling her towards the door.

Smiling, Yuffie nodded, but refused to walk any further. "Just let me get my coat first. It's kinda cold outside, you know," she told him, beginning to pull away to go upstairs and grab the heavy coat she kept in her room.

Squall shook his head, refusing to let her go. "I have a better idea," he murmured, releasing one hand to reach into the closet behind. He pulled out a long leather coat and held it out to her. "Happy birthday, Yuffie."

The ninja carefully took it in her hands, holding it up so she could examine it. On the back, there was a lion head, much like Squall's own griever. But, unlike his, the lion head was backed against a ninja star. Slipping it on, she quickly tied the belt around her waist and pulled Squall into a hug, her face in the crook of his neck. "I love it, Squall," she murmured against his skin. "And I love you."

Lowering his head, he gave her a quick chaste kiss on the cheek, whispering an 'I love you' back into her ear. He reluctantly let her go, holding her at arms length to get a better look at her in the jacket. He grimaced when saw the belt. "Sorry about it being belted. I made it before we knew you were pregnant," he began apologetically as he lowered his hands to her waist.

Yuffie shook her head, smiling as she did so. "No, I love it, Squall. Really, I do. And I don't even have to fake it like I did when Aerith gave me all those bath things." She rolled her eyes at the memory of all those bath oils still sitting in the dining room. "Gah... I don't know what I'm going to do with them," she muttered in exasperation.

"I think we can find a few uses for them, Yuf," the swordsmen told her, winking as he did so. He caught her hand as she lifted it to hit his chest, using it to pull her closer so she was pressed up against him so he could kiss her, starting at her mouth and working down her neck.

"I... I thought we were going outside," Yuffie gasped, trying not to make too many noises as he continued his assault on her throat.

Lifting his head from her throat, he smiled and nodded. "We are... just taking a little break before we do," he smirked, draping his arm over her shoulders as he led her once more to the door. He paused before opening it. "Are you sure you're warm enough?" he asked concernedly.

"Yes, Squall. I'll be fine," she reassured, leaning against his shoulder as they walked outside. She shivered a little when the cold night air washed over her, but with Squall's arm around her and his comforting warmth beside her, her shivers soon subsided.

"If you get too cold, tell me, Yuf. I don't want you to get sick right now," he insisted as they sat down upon the stone bench in the garden. He twisted around, bringing his legs up onto the bench and brought her in front of him, between his legs with her back against his chest while his arms wrapped around her front.

Sighing, Yuffie rested her hands on his legs, slowly running them up and down. "I love you so much, Squall," she whispered, feeling his grip tighten around her. Right now, in his arms, she felt like everything was perfect. Even being pregnant didn't seem like such a bad thing like it had earlier. After all, she'd be having _his _child, which made it seem _right _somehow, even if she was only seventeen. And he was being so sweet to her, making sure that she had everything she needed and doing anything she asked. It just seem so perfect. But, deep down, somewhere deep in her pessimistic side, she knew it was too good to last.

* * *

_Author's Note: Finally... I've been working on that chapter all day and I think it's pretty much all fluff. But, I do so love the fluff. Anyways, give me a review, why doncha?_


	3. Chapter Three: Nightmares

_Author's Note: Okay, I'm gonna try and get this baby done today so I can get started on the next chapter of HAT. You see, I'm trying to alternate the chapters. Anyways, on with the show. There's some talk about X and Y chromosomes in here... hehehe... hope that doesn't confuse anyone... I don't remember when you learn that in school..._

_Note to Ezri-Candy: A marble statue of Squallie??? :::grins and drools::: Thank you!!_

_Disclaimer: Still don't own them, but thanks to Ezzy, I now have a marble statue of my Squallie._

* * *

_Chapter Three: Nightmares_

__The days of Yuffie's pregnancy flew by and her morning sickness soon subsided to just every once in awhile. Soon, it was Christmas and the Hollow Bastion occupants spent much time and energy decorating the whole palace. Of course, Yuffie had to fight Squall tooth and nail for her to do _anything_ herself as he was worrying over the least little thing. Squall was so protective of both her and the growing baby inside, that he very nearly followed her around like a shadow and did everything for her.

That is, he did until his ninja _insisted_ that she could do these things without hurting neither her nor the baby. She even went so far as to search the library for books on pregnancy to prove her point to her lover. He finally conceded and only helped her with the more difficult things, although he _did _watch her for any tell-tale signs that she needed help with something less difficult.

It was now just a few days into the new year, the holiday season having already come and gone, and Yuffie was just a little over two months pregnant as far as anyone could tell. Her stomach still remained flat, but had grown to become _extremely_ firm as the baby grew and pushed her organs around in her stomach. And right now, the pregnant ninja was propped up on a pile of pillows on her bed with Squall's head in her lap, her fingers lazily running through his hair while he played with her stomach.

She giggled softly when he stroked a lone finger down her side, crossing over the sensitive spots on her flesh. "That tickles, you know?" she told him, gently massaging his scalp and looking down at him.

"I know it does. Why else do you think I did it?" Squall retorted, pushing her sweatshirt up so he could have clear access to her stomach. He gave it an experimental poke, finding that the flesh didn't give in hardly at all to his finger. "That's going to turn into a rock soon, I think."

Drawing her brows together, Yuffie poked it herself, then leaned over and poked Squall's own stomach. "Yeah, it's harder than yours now." She poked him again, laughing as he winced since she poked him a bit harder. "Of course, maybe you're just getting a little flabby since you're not training so often and you're eating so much," she teased, remembering how many cookies she had seen him wolf down on Christmas Eve, after Aerith and Shera had just finished baking them.

"You're eating a hell of a lot more than me," the swordsman retaliated, rubbing her stomach as he pulled the elastic waistband of her sweat pants down lower, to reveal all of her abdomen. "Like that tub of Rocky Road ice cream you finished off last night."

Yuffie playfully thumped Squall's nose, rolling her eyes as she did so. "I'm pregnant, you idiot. Of course I was hungry," she muttered, easing her head back down on the pillows and slowly closing her eyes. She was still tired most of the time, beginning to take naps in the middle of the day, right about now, as it were.

Seeing that his love was beginning to fall asleep, he grasped the hand that had thumped him and brought it to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. The gentle smile that appeared on her lips was answered with his own and he then turned his face to her stomach. "You won't be withdrawn, you'll like people," he began, his lips nearly touching her stomach as he talked to it. "You will be fascinated by sword lore. You will be a girl. You will be an ace student."

Shifting somewhat on the bed, Yuffie released a drawn out sigh, her fingers once again running through Squall's hair. "Squall, I am about nine weeks pregnant. I don't think _he_ can hear me yet," she told him, making sure to emphasize the word 'he.' It had become an ongoing discussion between them whether the baby was a boy or girl.

"But what if _she _can? And maybe these subliminal messages would work," Squall insisted adamantly, stormy blue eyes staring up into Yuffie's indigo. He closed the fraction of the space between his lips and her stomach, placing a kiss on her belly button before sitting up and situating himself next to her. He pulled her into his arms, her back against his chest and his hands splayed across her still bare stomach. "And before you say anything, it is a girl."

"No, it's not. It's gonna be a boy," the ninja argued back, leaning her head back against shoulder and twisting her face so she could kiss Squall's chin.

"Girl."

"Boy!"

"It's going to be a girl and I'm the one who gets to choose," the swordsman finally said, smirking because he thought he had won the argument.

Yuffie pulled away from, turning to look at him with raised eyebrows. "Just because it's _your _chromosome that decides the sex of the baby doesn't mean you get to choose," she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest in mock anger. "Besides, it was_ my_ egg that decided whether it was an X or a Y that got through. And I say it was a Y chromosome." To finish up her argument, she stuck her tongue out at him, but found herself yawning as she did so.

Shaking his head, Squall reached over and gently pulled her back down to him, having her lie on her stomach against his chest while his hands rested gently on her lower back. "Just go to sleep," he muttered into her hair, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "You know you're tired, I know you're tired, and I could go for a nap myself."

"And why are _you_ tired, Mr. Leonhart?" she asked playfully, crossing her arms on his chest and resting her chin atop them so she gaze upon his face. "You aren't the one pregnant."

"No, but I'm the one with a pregnant girlfriend who likes to toss and turn in her sleep," Squall replied, beginning to run his hands down her back in long, caressing strokes. "And, I do believe it was this morning that Cid woke me up at six to help him work on my Gummi ship, wasn't it?"

Moving her arms from his chest to wrap beneath his own arms, Yuffie lay her cheek against his chest, listening to the heartbeat beneath her ear. It had a soothing quality that always made her feel safe, like nothing bad could ever happen to her as long as she could hear the beating of his heart. "Fine," she conceded, yawning once more. "You have the right to take a nap, too."

"Good, because I wasn't planning on moving from this spot," Squall murmured, tightening his grip ever so slightly on her waist as he closed his eyes. He felt her shift somewhat and opened one eye lazily to make sure she was alright before closing it again.

"Well, I'm glad since you make _such_ a nice pillow," the ninja mumbled sleepily, her eyes slowly falling shut and her breathing becoming more even. She hazily noticed that Squall's had as well, signaling that he had already fallen asleep. And it wasn't long before she, too, joined him in slumber.

* * *

At dinner that night, all six residents of Hollow Bastion sat around the large dining room table, eating bowls of the chicken stew Aerith had made that day. After being on this world for the past three months with no café such as most of them were accustomed to in Traverse Town, it was decided that Aerith and Shera would take turns doing the cooking as they were the only two who were able to make anything edible. Sure, they had tried out everyone's cooking, but most of the time, someone ended up with food poisoning after trying the concoctions the others had made. Most notably, Cid's cooking had managed to make _everyone_ sick and he was no longer allowed in the kitchen except for repair work.

But, tonight, the chicken stew the gentle flower girl had prepared that day seemed to be going over well with everyone as most of them were working on their second and third bowls. Conversation flowed around the room on two or three different subjects, except for at the end where Squall and Yuffie sat. There, the ninja would look up from her bowl occasionally and glare at the swordsman across from her. The normally talkative teenager hadn't spoken a word to anyone after they had sat down to dinner.

Finally, unable to take this silent treatment any longer, especially considering he had no clue what she was mad about, Squall burst out. "_What's wrong?"_ he hissed to her rather loudly, loud enough to stop all other conversations around the table.

Everyone stopped eating and turned to watch the couple at the end of the table, waiting for Yuffie's reaction to Squall's outburst. Cid elbowed Cloud in the side, muttering about placing bets on what upset the pregnant ninja this time. They were becoming fairly used to frequent mood changes in the girl, having seen her go from anger to tears in just a few short minutes.

"What's wrong?!" Yuffie asked incredulously, dropping her spoon into the bowl and ignoring the stew that splashed onto the table. "You know very well what's wrong."

"No, Yuffie. I don't. So, please enlighten me so I can fix it," Squall told her as calmly as he could, trying to ignore the stares from around the table. He hated seeing Yuffie so moody all the time, but he attributed it to the rapid hormone changes taking place in her body and normally wouldn't let it affect him.

"If you don't know what's wrong, then I'm not going to tell you," the ninja growled, narrowing her eyes into dangerous slits as she glared daggers at the man in front of her.

Squall buried his face into his hands, letting out a deep breath as he did so before lifting his head to look at her again. "So, what you're saying is that if I _did _know what's wrong, you'd tell me? Is that what you're saying, because that makes no sense whatsoever," he inquired, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice by reminding himself that she was pregnant and very hormonal right now.

Crossing her arms over her chest, the ninja quirked an eyebrow and glared at him. "You took my seat," she grumbled, leaning back in her chair and turning to glare at everyone else at the table. She noted that they all immediately dropped their gaze back to their bowls.

Squall rose from his seat, picking up his bowl, and walked around to where she was sitting. "There, you can have _your _seat back now. I didn't know we had assigned seating," he muttered, beginning to pull her chair out for her so she could take _her _seat.

"No, I don't want to sit there now," Yuffie insisted, refusing to budge from the chair. "So, you just go back over there and eat." She gestured with one hand towards the chair he had just recently vacated for her.

Sighing and closing his eyes in slight frustration, the brunet swordsman slowly walked back over to where he had been sitting and tentatively took his seat, half expecting her to explode again. A few minutes later, he noticed that Yuffie was back to her cheerful self, looking up from her bowl to smile apologetically at him. Conversation resumed around the room, this time both Squall and Yuffie joining in on it.

Yuffie got up from the table to get herself another glass of water from the kitchen, and as soon as she was gone, Aerith sighed deeply and stared at Squall. "Leon," she muttered, shaking her head slowly, "haven't you learned that you can't argue with pregnant women? Just nod your head and acclimate yourself to saying 'yes, dear.'"

"I'll keep that in mind," Squall mumbled in reply, wondering if his ninja would be like this for the whole pregnancy, or if it was just going to be like this in the early stages. But, he didn't dwell on it for long as his mind was already drifting to another matter at hand.

* * *

Later that evening, Squall nervously paced the floor in their bedroom as he waited for Yuffie. She had told him to go ahead and go upstairs as she had something she wanted to discuss with Aerith before the flower girl, herself, headed for bed. He couldn't fathom what she wanted to talk to Aerith about, but he could guess it was about her pregnancy as the older woman was the only one in the castle with _any_ medical experience.

But, Squall didn't spend anymore time thinking about that, his thoughts drifting instead to the small velvet covered box in his hands. He had been half-lying earlier in the day when he had told Yuffie that he had to get up early to help Cid with his ship. Yes, he had worked on his ship, but the only reason he wanted to do it so early was so he would have the time afterwards to go down to the small village surrounding the castle to buy this.

He opened the box and stared at the thin silver band with a small emerald stone, a smile coming across his face as he did so. Really, he had no clue why he was so nervous. He was almost positive that Yuffie would say yes, there was nothing to suggest otherwise. Sure, there was a nine year age gap, but if that hadn't bothered them yet, why would it affect them now?

The sound of the doorknob slowly turning caused Squall to hastily close the box and put it in his pocket before she could see it, planning on asking her in a few moments. But, when he noticed how pale and green her face appeared as she walked into the room, all thoughts of his proposal temporarily fled his mind. "Yuffie," he murmured as he strode over to her, putting his arm around her shoulders to help her over to the bed.

"I guess the morning sickness is coming back with vengeance, huh?" she asked quietly, laughing half-heartedly as she clutched her stomach. This was the sickest she had felt since she became pregnant... hell, the sickest she had ever felt in her whole life, even with all her motion sickness. She quickly changed out of the sweat pants and sweat shirt she was wearing and into her favorite flannel nightgown, the one that came to her mid-thigh, even if Squall did hate it.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Squall asked gently, sitting down next to her and taking one of her hands in his own and entwining their fingers. He heard her groan softly and her face paled even more. "Yuffie?"

Wincing, Yuffie lay down on her side, curling up into a ball. "Yeah... I- I think I'll just try and go to sleep to see if that helps," she muttered, trying to ignore the stomach ache and push it out of her mind. But her stomach just hurt so much.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" the swordsman inquired softly, brushing her ebony bangs out of her face.

Yuffie was about to answer when her stomachache suddenly became much worse and she leapt out of the bed as quickly as she could and dashed to the bathroom. Squall, used to her doing this with the morning sickness, sighed before getting up to follow her down the hall. Reaching the bathroom door, he flipped on the lights since Yuffie had neglected to do so in her rush. And just as he was about to enter the bathroom to get her the damp washcloth he knew she would want, he stopped and stared.

On the bathroom floor, in a trail leading from the door to the toilet was blood. His eyes followed the trail to see it trickling down Yuffie's legs and falling into a puddle beneath her.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, I know you guys hate me now. Not only did I do that to Yuffie and Squall, but I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger. And, just so you know, I'm crying right now. Anyways, review for me. I gotta go to school now._


	4. Chapter Four: Raining Red Glass

_Author's Note: :::nervous laughter::: I know a lot of you guys are ready to KILL me. But, hopefully, since I'm getting this chapter out BEFORE the next chapter of HAT, you'll forgive me, right? :::sigh::: _

_Disclaimer: I don't own them. I only borrow them. If I could, I would have Squall locked in my room forevermore, but I can't._

* * *

_Chapter Four: Raining Red Glass_

__The sudden presence of light in the darkened bathroom caused Yuffie to blink a few times, but she hardly noticed it as all of her attention was focused on the pain in her stomach. She was still standing in the bathroom, expecting the comforting caresses on her back from Squall while she was sick. He _always_ stayed with her when she was sick and rubbed her back to try and ease the nausea.

But, something was different tonight for it had been a few minutes since he had turned the light on and he had yet to approach her. "Squall?" Yuffie groaned, clutching her stomach and nearly doubling over with the sudden pain that hit her. She slowly turned her head, wondering if he was in the room after all. He was. But what she saw terrified her.

He still stood in the doorway, staring at her with wide eyes and his face completely devoid of color. His left hand was still on the light switch, as though he had been frozen in place as soon as he had turned the light on. There was an almost dead look to his face, to his eyes, and she found herself shivering as she looked at him.

"Squall?" Yuffie called out tentatively, clenching her eyes shut at the pain that assaulted her. She slowly opened them again, this time her eyes falling upon the bright red stains upon the white tiled floor. Sudden fear took over her and she unwillingly followed the blood trail to the puddle at her feet and very suddenly became aware of the hot liquid running down her legs. The world around her began to blur and she felt herself slowly falling forward, as though someone had put the world on slow motion. The last thing she saw was the blood stained floor rushing up to meet her.

Coming out of his shocked state, Squall watched as Yuffie began to pitch forward, his legs still unwillingly to move as he tried to rush towards her and catch her. She hit the floor with a soft _thud_ and he found his legs suddenly working again. "Oh God!" Squall murmured, running to her and kneeling on the floor beside her, fingers already moving to her wrist to check for a pulse. "Please," he pleaded, not knowing or caring who he was pleading with as long as there was still life in his ninja.

It was there, not beating as quickly or as loudly as he would have liked, but it was there. Tears came to his eyes, something he hadn't felt in so very long, and he was unable to stop them as a few slipped past their dams and spilled down his cheeks. "Yuffie," he rasped, gently cradling her head and trying not to see all the blood on both the floor and her legs. But there was so much and he try as he may, he could not wake himself up from this apparent nightmare he had fallen into.

Finally snapping back into reality, Squall realized he had to do something. There was so much blood already and more was pooling beneath her. Grabbing one of the huge towels they kept in their bathroom, he carefully wrapped Yuffie up within, wincing when he noticed that the blood was already seeping through and staining the white towel.

Squall cradled her to his chest, racing out of the bathroom and down the hall towards the room Aerith and Cloud had taken. Aerith was the only one in the castle who had _any_ previous medical experience and hopefully she would know what to do. He spared a glance down at the too still girl in his arms, noticing that her face was looking far too pale and her breathing was shallow.

He increased his pace, trying not to jar Yuffie too much as he did so. But the only thought running through his head were that if he didn't get to Aerith soon enough, the ninja might very well bleed to death. He knew it was probably too late for the baby and that thought tore him up inside, but the thought that he might lose Yuffie as well nearly killed him. And if he did lose her, he knew that he would die as well.

The door to the flower girl's room came into sight, and there was still a soft glow coming from the crack beneath the door, signaling that its occupants were still awake. That thought alone gave the swordsman slight relief as Aerith wouldn't have to roused to consciousness.

Upon reaching the solid oaken door, Squall balanced himself and Yuffie precariously on one foot while he beat on the door with the other, bellowing for Aerith at the same time. "Aerith, open the damn door!" he hollered, still kicking at the bottom of the door with his booted foot.

The sound of footsteps scurrying across the floor met his ears and the door was quickly pulled open to reveal the flower girl pulling a pink robe around herself. "Leon, what is going–," she began angrily, her eyes narrowed into tiny slits, but widening quite suddenly upon seeing the pale ninja wrapped within the blood stained towel. Her hand was slowly brought over her mouth as she gasped and stared at the blood that also stained Leon's once white shirt and covered the arm that rested beneath Yuffie's legs. "Oh my God!" she gasped, opening the door all the way and stepping out of the way for Squall to carry Yuffie into the room.

As Squall gingerly lay his ninja down upon the bed, Aerith ran to the connecting bathroom in the room to grab a few fresh towels. She ignored the protests the showering Cloud gave to her rude interruption and quickly gave him a rushed explanation as she dashed back out of the bathroom. Moments later, a still half wet Cloud emerged from the bathroom to find his and Aerith's bed a myriad of blood stained towels and Leon hovering over the too still Yuffie while Aerith did what she could with cure spells. But cure spells could only do so much.

"Leon, please, you're going to have to move," the flower girl insisted, trying to push the swordsman out of her way. He refused to budge. "Leon, you need to move," Aerith tried again. But he only moved a scant inch. "Cloud! Get him out of here!"

The blonde put his hand on Squall's shoulder, gently pulling him away from the bed so Aerith could better tend to Yuffie. "Come on, Leon," he muttered, pushing him towards the hall door. "It might be better for us to wait outside."

Squall stopped walking to turn around and glare at Cloud, his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits that signaled he meant business. "_I'm not leaving this room until Yuffie does_," he seethed in a deadly hiss, already walking back towards the bed, but this time staying out of the flower girl's way. He pulled a small chair over to the bedside and sat down, his elbows rested on his knees and his face buried in his hands.

Time seemed to stand still for the swordsman, minutes drifting into hours with hardly any meaning for him. He barely even registered when Aerith had told him that Yuffie would be okay, only felt the relief that washed over him. And what Aerith had told him next, he had already known from the moment he had seen all the blood, that Yuffie would survive but the fetus would not.

Fetus. Squall loathed that word for it had been more than just a fetus to both him and Yuffie. It had been a baby and now it was gone. But, to help distance himself from the pain, he embraced the word. For if it was a baby, the pain was fresh and like a knife cutting through him. However, the word fetus had no emotions attached to it. And, thus, no pain.

* * *

Blinking her eyes a few times, Yuffie tried to clear the fuzziness out of her head and get her vision to focus. Her brain just felt so muddled right now... as though she were on drugs or something. It reminded her of the time she broke her arm and Aerith had put her on painkillers so she could set it without too much of a fuss from the ninja.

Yuffie brought her hand wearily up to rub her eyes, wondering why her arm felt so heavy. She was halfway through a yawn when she very suddenly remembered the horrible nightmare she had had the night before. Turning her head, she saw a tangled mess of mahogany locks resting on the edge of the bed and briefly wondered why Squall would be sleeping in a chair and not in the bed. His hand loosely held hers, and she instinctively curled her fingers around his.

"Squall?" she rasped, finding that she needed to clear her throat to get rid of the scratchiness of it. She called his name again and felt the grip on her hand tighten and saw him wearily lift his head and look at her with bloodshot eyes.

Running a hand through his hair and stifling the yawn that threatened him, Squall stared at his ninja, glad to see that she was finally awake. She had been unconscious for the last fifteen hours and they had been fifteen hours of hell for him. Even with Aerith's reassurance that she would be okay, he was still terrified of losing her. "Yuffie," he murmured softly, a catch in his voice as he remembered the sudden loss of their baby. _No, fetus_, he roughly reminded himself.

The ninja gave him her love a confused smile, ignoring the weariness in her arms to reach out and touch his cheek. "You don't look too good," she whispered, noticing not only the red-rimmed eyes, but also the complete paleness of his face. "You look like death warmed over."

"Yuffie," Squall murmured again, wincing as he realized that she apparently didn't remember what had happened the night before and he would have to be the one to break the news to her, as much as he was loathe to do. "Yuffie, do you remember what happened last night?"

The pained looked on the swordsman face threw her as she tried to remember what all had happened that night. "We had dinner and I got mad because you took my place," she admitted sheepishly, blushing slightly at the memory of her inexcusable behavior. "And then I was feeling sick so I went to bed."

"You don't remember anything else?" Squall asked painfully, keeping his eyes down on the comforter and bringing up his other hand to clasp hers between both of his.

"Well, I had a nightmare about losing the baby..." she began, trailing off when she saw Squall slowly bring his gaze up to hers, a wetness appearing behind his eyes that wasn't normally there. And, frankly, it terrified her. Then she suddenly became aware of the fact that she wasn't in her room, but in Aerith and Cloud's. "Tell me it was a nightmare, Squall!" she moaned, not wanting to believe what she was seeing in his eyes.

His hands tightened around hers and he willed his eyes not to shed the tears that were building up behind them. "I-I'm... sorry, Yuffie," he rasped, finding it hard to talk around the lump forming in his throat.

Yuffie clenched her eyes shut, praying that this was only some evil trick her mind was playing on her, Hoping that any minute now she would wake up and find out it was all but a dream. "And the baby?" she whispered, frightened of what his answer would be, but needing to know even though she was fairly certain she had already read it in his eyes. She slowly opened her eyes, keeping the tears in check until she had heard his answer.

Squall painfully shut his eyes, a few tears escaping them and trickling down his cheeks as he tried to chose his words. But there were only so many ways to tell her and all them would hurt her just the same. "It was too late for... for... _it_," he finally managed, unable to call it a baby any longer as it hurt too much.

The keening wail that met his ears was answer enough for how Yuffie was taking the noise. Never in his life had he heard something sound so full of pain. The ninja pulled her hand out from between his, rolling over to curl into a ball with her back facing his. And the wailing soon softened to sobs that wracked her small frame so much that he thought it would rent her in two.

Burying her face in her pillow, Yuffie let the tears have free reign and allowed the sobs to do as they would. Nothing else mattered right now... just the fact that she had lost the baby. That _she_ and _she alone_ had lost the baby. A soft hand fell onto her shoulder, but even knowing that it was Squall's, she still shuddered under the touch. So deep in self-blame that she was sure everyone else would blame her as well, even Squall.

The want and need of just holding Yuffie right now was almost a physical ache for Squall at the moment. But he restrained himself after feeling the shudder underneath his touch. And it hurt him deeply that she didn't want him right now, hurt him more deeply than he ever thought possible. So, not knowing what else to do and since she apparently wanted to be alone, he reluctantly left the room, shutting the door behind him. Leaning against it, he slowly sank to the floor, his head in his hands and a million thoughts running through his head.

Back inside the bedroom, the sound of the door closing had jarred enough to cause her to look up and find that Squall had left her. She knew that it must have hurt him when she shuddered beneath his touch, but she couldn't help it. And now he had left her alone with her thoughts.

_What have I done wrong?_ Yuffie painfully wondered as she thought about the loss of the baby.

_Why didn't I take care of her?_ Squall asked himself, pondering if perhaps he had taken Yuffie to Aerith when she first felt ill last night, the outcome would have been different.

_I shouldn't have done all those things_, Yuffie insisted to herself, remembering all the times Squall would tell her not to lift something and she would anyways.

_I shouldn't have suffocated her like that_, Squall told himself, thinking about all the times he would shadow her just to make sure she didn't exert herself.

_What happened? Why did I lose it?_ Yuffie asked herself for the hundredth time in just the past few moments since she had found out what had happened.

_Why did I get her pregnant? Why wasn't I more careful? _Squall internally questioned, realizing how young Yuffie actually was and what a pregnancy could do to her at that relatively young age.

_It's all MY fault, _both Yuffie and Squall unanimously thought, though it were unknown to both of them that the other felt the same way. Both of them taking the blame and believing the other blame them as well according to their reactions. Because Yuffie had turned away from him and shuddered when he touched her, Squall believed that she blamed him while Yuffie believed that Squall blamed her since he had left her alone in the room. And, so, with Yuffie still on the bed and Squall leaning on the outside of the door, both mentally berated themselves over what was really neither's fault.

* * *

_Author's Note: I know you must really hate me now. And all I can say is I'm sorry and I'm just as sad as you guys are... maybe even sadder since I'm the one doing this to them. But, the secondary genre is angst, so it's to be expected. Anyways, it's late and I'm going to bed as soon as I post this. So, make me as happy as I can be considering the chapter I just wrote and give me a review._


	5. Chapter Five: Shattered Rain

_Author's Note: I know, I know. You want it to get all happy and fluffy again. So do I. But, I can't do that yet. And this story won't have very much longer to go. Maybe three or four more chapters. I can only do angst for so long._

_Note to ghettotaku_: _You know, at first your last review confused me, but then I realized that you're getting one of Jupiter Green's stories, "Rewind," confused with mine. Because THIS story is the sequel to "Blind Instinct" in which Squall and Yuffie didn't get married. So.. yeah... I think you're thinking of "Rewind." That's the only story I can think of with Master Leader. Anyways, hope that helps clear up the confusion._

_Oh, yeah... I forgot to say this at the beginning of chapter three. Okay, the epilogue of Blind Instinct took place a few days before Christmas. Now, chapters one and two of this story took place BEFORE that epilogue, but chapters three and four took place AFTER that epilogue. Hope that didn't confuse anyone._

–_Disclaimer: All characters portrayed in this story belong to their rightful owners of SquareEnix. I don't think any of them belong to Disney unless I mention Riku, Kairi, or Sora. However, I'm not going to complain if SquareEnix decides to give me the sole rights to Squall and somehow figured out a way to make him flesh and blood._

* * *

_Chapter Five: Shattered Rain_

Yuffie didn't know how long she lay there, tearing streaming down her face and falling onto her pillow while she brutally blamed herself over and over again for miscarrying. Curling into a protective ball, she tightened the blankets around her until she had made a cocoon around herself, hoping it would offer some reassurance. At this moment, she would have liked nothing better than for Squall to come into the room and simply hold her, telling her everything would be alright even if it were a lie. But he was gone, leaving her in there alone, the memory of the shutting door still echoing in her mind even though it was hours ago.

She must have finally fallen asleep for she jerked awake and noticed that the sun was now setting through the window. The last time she had looked, which had seemed like moments ago to her, the sun was still high in the sky. The door creaked open and she realized that must have been what woke her up, the sounds of someone approaching the door. The ninja hoped fervently that it was Squall, but the light footfalls told her differently.

Aerith sat on the edge of the bed, sitting behind Yuffie, and reached out to gently stroke the teenager's lank hair. "Yuffie?" she called softly, trying not to let her voice break as she did so. Even though she had not been the one to lose a baby, it still hurt knowing that someone did and that the someone was a very close friend, almost sister, to her.

The ninja didn't answer, but continued to stare out the window with puffy red eyes to watch the sun set behind the mountains, leaving the Hollow Bastion world covered in a depressing darkness. Yuffie welcomed the darkness with open arms. Before, Yuffie had embodied the light, bringing sunshine with her perpetually happy and bouncy attitude to those in the darkness. But, now, she was darkness itself, needing others to pierce through the dark veil and bring her sunshine.

"Oh, Yuffie," the flower girl moaned, the few tears she had been holding back falling down her face unheeded as she continued to stroke the girl's hair. Today was supposed to be a happy day for Aerith, the day she was going to tell the rest of the Bastion what she had only found out the morning before. But when Squall had brought the bleeding Yuffie to her room the night before, Aerith decided that she might better wait awhile before she shared the news that she was pregnant with anyone besides Cloud.

"I want to go back to my own room," Yuffie croaked, her throat raspy from both crying and the painkillers she had discovered Aerith had been giving her, explaining why she had not felt any pain when she had first awakened. "I want to be in my own bed, in my own room." She was tired of being in Aerith and Cloud's room. It just made the fact that she had lost the baby so much more real.

Nodding, the flower girl stood up and brushed away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. "Alright. Just let me go get Cloud to carry you," she began, walking briskly towards the door to holler for the blonde to come help her. She had seen him walk into the next room just moments before she had come in here, so she assumed he would still be nearby.

"No, don't get him, Aerith. I can walk," the ninja said softly, slowly sitting up and putting a hand to her forehead when a wave of dizziness assaulted her. She sat as still as she was able, her head reeling as the room seemed to spin around her, and waited for the lightheadedness to abate before she swung her legs off the bed.

Aerith rushed back over the bedside, pushing gently on Yuffie's shoulders to make her lie down once more. "Yuffie, really, you should just lie down and let him carry you. You lost a lot of blood last night and haven't had time to recover yet," the flower girl insisted, keeping the ninja seated, at least, since she couldn't make her lie down once more.

Remembering how far it actually was to her bedroom and feeling how weak she truly was, Yuffie finally nodded her assent and lay back down on the bed. "Alright, you win," she whispered, watching as her pink-clad friend once more headed for the door. It was then that she looked down at what she was wearing and realized someone had changed her from the flannel nightshirt and into one of Squall's button-up shirts, which once again set her thoughts about the swordsman. "Aerith?"

The flower girl stopped with her hand on the doorknob and turned to look at Yuffie, her brows furrowed slightly. "Hm?" she called back, her eyes trained onto the ninja's.

Yuffie furrowed her own brows, looking down at the baby blue quilt that lay across her and traced her finger across the arching quilting pattern. "Where's Squall?" she asked quietly, not lifting her eyes from the quilt as she didn't want Aerith to see anymore tears in her eyes.

"He's... he's in the waterway," Aerith told her, stumbling over her words as she remembered the anguished look on his face when she had passed him in the hallways much earlier in the day. He had gone directly to the waterway and had not emerged since then, not even saying anything to the flower girl as he passed her. Of course, she couldn't blame him. It wasn't only Yuffie who had lost something precious the night before, but Squall as well. She just didn't understand why the two weren't supporting each other right now when they both so desperately needed it. Every time she had peeked into the room to check on Yuffie, the ninja had been alone and sleeping for the most part due to the painkillers she was taking. Shaking her head, Aerith decided now was not the time to be letting her mind wander. "Do you want me to go get him for you?" she finally asked when Yuffie hadn't said anything to her reply.

Shaking her head slightly, Yuffie took a deep breath and looked up at the flower girl, biting her lip slightly. "No, that's okay. I was just wondering where he was," she murmured softly, looking back down at the quilt once more. She really did want Squall here with her, but she wanted him to _want _to be with her, not there simply because he felt it was his duty. Noticing that Aerith had yet to call for Cloud, she raised her head slightly and peeked through the bangs that had fallen into her vision. "I thought you were going to get Cloud?"

Aerith sighed deeply and stepped out in the hallway, letting the door click shut behind her before she leaned against the wall, her hands coming up to rub her face. She had been sure that Yuffie would send her down to the waterway beneath the castle for Squall, and when she hadn't, it made the flower girl's heart ache. One could tell by looking into the ninja's eyes how much she wanted him there with her, but something must have happened between the two that morning to make her afraid to ask for him.

Cloud came out of the next room before Aerith could ruminate matters any further, reminding her that she was supposed to be retrieving him to move Yuffie to her own room. "Cloud?" the flower girl called softly, stepping away from the wall and walking down the hall towards him. "Yuffie wants to go back to her room and she's too weak to walk."

"Okay, I'll carry her," the blonde assented, leaning forward to gently kiss Aerith on the forehead and stroke her cheek with one hand. "How's she doing?" The ninja was like a little sister to him and he hated to see her in such pain, emotional or physical.

Shutting her eyes, the flower girl fell into Cloud's arms and rested her head against his shoulder, letting the tears that had just recently formed fall onto his shirt. "Physically, she's just weak, but she'll pull through. But, emotionally, that's a whole other story," she whispered into his shirt, her voice coming out muffled.

Slowly bringing his arms up around the woman in his arms, Cloud held onto her and rested his chin atop her head, beginning to rock her gently. "She's strong, Aerith. She'll make it through," he murmured, adjusting his head so he could kiss her chestnut hair.

"I know, but she needs Leon in there with her and he's not there," Aerith muttered, raising her hand to wipe away her tears. "They need each other right now."

"I know, Aerith, I know," he whispered, beginning to gently stroke her hair to help soothe her. Suddenly, in the back of his mind, the thought that it might have been Aerith who had miscarried. Ever since she had told him she was pregnant last night, he had begun to worry about a million different things. And, then, it was the same night that Squall had rushed the ninja to their bedroom, blood everywhere and it just made all his fears seem more justified. Without knowing it, Cloud tightened his grip around Aerith and buried his face in her hair.

Sighing, Aerith back out of his arms and dried her eyes while nodding slightly. "Go take Yuffie to her room and then tell Shera to bring her up something to eat," she commanded softly, starting to walk down the hall towards one of the many lift stops in the castle. "And I'm going to go try and find Leon."

Knowing that he couldn't stop her (he had found out the hard way about her stubborn streak), Cloud watched helplessly as she left him alone in the hallway. He slowly shook his head before going into the room where Yuffie waited for him.

* * *

Sitting against the dank wall of one of the many twisting passages beneath the waterway, Squall let his hands rest between his drawn up knees and stared blindly at the opposite wall. His mind never once drifted from what had just happened to both him and Yuffie. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see the blood all over the floor and watch helplessly as she fell to the tiles. And there was still _nothing he could do!_

He lowered his head to his knees, loathe to shut his eyes as the bloodstained bathroom would only greet him once more. His spine ached at having been pressed against the icy cold wall for most of the day, yet Squall still refused to get up. Even as his breath formed puffs of steam in the frigid waterway, he stayed. For once, he didn't know what to do.

For most of his life, others had looked up to him for the protection that he offered them. Even before the Heartless had come to Hollow Bastion when he was still a teenager, he had been training with the Gunblade. And, then after the Heartless had attacked, he had discovered who his foe was and had learned how to fight against them. At Traverse Town, he had made it his duty to protect those who were unable to protect themselves, even if it cost him his life.

But, now, something had attacked him and Yuffie and he _didn't know what to do!_ How could one fight something that attacked invisibly? How could one fight fate?

Picking up the small rock lying next to him on the ground, he angrily through it across the passageway as hot tears came to his eyes once more. If he could, he would search the universe over for whatever entity that had granted both him and Yuffie the happiness of having a child only to then rip it away from them. His hands tightened, as though he were throttling some invisible enemy.

His thoughts shifted from his irate anger at the Fates and drifted back to the girl in the castle above him. He knew it was much harder on her than it was on him, but it was still his child as well that had died. And it hurt more than he could describe. The urge to hold onto Yuffie and simply to just let his tears go was overpowering, but he resisted somehow. He was waiting for her to ask for him, to let him know he was still wanted, to let him know she didn't blame him as he blamed himself.

Light footsteps sounded in the waterway, and, for a moment, he thought it might be Yuffie. But then he remembered that she would be far too weak to walk down here on her own, let alone stand the cold air considering how much blood she had lost. He lifted his head from his knees and stared down the passage, waiting for the intruder to come into sight.

Bright green eyes and chestnut bangs appeared in the darkened passageway, a pink dress and a light blue coat following them. Aerith continued trekking through the cold passage until she was right in front of Squall, staring down at him as he looked up at her.

Squall regarded her coldly; everyone knew he came down here when he wanted to be alone, yet she had still come down here. "Go away, Aerith," he muttered, lowering his gaze from her to stare at the wall once more.

"Leon, you've been down here all day," Aerith sighed, wrapping her coat around herself even tighter as the icy air seemed to seep into her bones. "You should be up there with the rest of us, with Yuffie. She--"

He cut her off abruptly with the look on his face, appearing so tormented. "Yuffie doesn't want me up there," he said under his breath, casting his eyes downward once more. "She doesn't want me right now." The memory of her shuddering beneath his touch had haunted him all day, forcing him to stay down here, away from her.

"Leon..." Aerith began again, closing her eyes and trying to keep the tears that had formed from his forlorn tone at bay. "You can't stay down here. You haven't eaten since last night and it's freezing down here. It's a wonder you haven't gotten hypothermia yet." She squatted onto the ground in front of him, reaching out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Come up into the castle to at least eat something and get warm. Please?"

A long silence passed between them, neither of them speaking nor moving until finally Squall slowly climbed to his feet and began wordlessly walking towards the lift stop Aerith had used to come down here. The flower girl followed in his footsteps, trying to sort out matters in her head. Yuffie wanted Squall, she could see it in her eyes earlier, yet she refused to ask for him. And Squall wanted Yuffie, she could hear it in his voice, yet he refused to go to her. She knew there was really nothing she could do. It was something they would have to go through on their own, with just support from their friends. But, in order to get through it, they needed to mourn together, taking comfort from each other... something they had yet to do.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, I'm not too pleased with this chapter, but I did the best that I could do. And I hope you guys enjoy it somewhat, even if it is all angst. Anyways, leave me a review and tell me what you think._


	6. Chapter Six: Confessions of a Lost Soul

_Author's Note: Okay, I can't do the angst much longer. Soooo, I think I'm gonna finish this story up in this chapter, except for the epilogue, that is. I had high expectations for this story, but was unable to meet them. So, it's gonna end up shorter than I had originally planned. Sorry, guys and gals._

_And part of this chapter is in Yuffie's POV and a journal entry thing... so, if that tends to ramble, remember her emotional state right now. _

_–Disclaimer: Yes, I own everything in this story. Right now, I have Squall handcuffed in my room. And, if you believe THAT, I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. So, as you can see, I do not own anything._

* * *

_Chapter Six: Confessions of a Lost Soul_

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Yuffie rolled over and stared out the window in her lonely bedroom. Soft, white snowflakes danced through the air in swirling patterns before gently floating to the ground below, belying the somber mood within the castle walls. She hated the snowflakes with a deep and burning passion at that moment for seeming so carefree and elated. It was just over two weeks ago when she, herself, had been feeling that way, only to have it cruelly ripped away from her in the Fate's firm grasp.

Wiping away the tear that slowly slid down her cheek, the ninja sat up slightly on the bed and stared at the door, willing it to open and for Squall to walk in. In the past two weeks, she had only seen him when they accidentally passed in the hallways; both had refused to meet the other's eyes. After that, she had returned to her room and only emerged when she absolutely had to which was seldom as she was hardly eating anything, only what the flower girl and Shera insisted that she eat.

With another glance around the room, Yuffie's eyes fell upon the small blue notebook Aerith had brought to her a few days ago. The notebook, Aerith had explained, was for Yuffie to release the emotions she kept pent up inside. After the day she had found out she had lost the baby and had had her initial cry, the ninja had stopped showing any emotion to anything. She was simply apathetic to everything that when on around her. Outside, that is. Inside, she was an emotional wreck and unable to think about anything _but_ the miscarriage and the distant way Squall was acting.

Yuffie clenched her eyes shut as she thought about Squall again and hastily grabbed the notebook, deciding that she might as well give it a try. She was at the end of her rope and had no one to talk to. Even though she knew Aerith would listen to everything she said without interruption, Yuffie didn't _want_ to talk with the flower girl right now. The _only_ person she _wanted_ to talk to was Squall, and she knew he was still hiding away in the waterway.

As she opened the notebook and picked up the pen Aerith had left her, Yuffie stared blindly at the blank pages before her. Gathering her thoughts, the pen began to slowly fill the lines with words in Yuffie's own unique style of writing–something in between script and print, something distinctly her.

_Aerith told me that it's good therapy to write down what you're feeling, even if you're the only person who ever reads it. And since I can't really vocalize what it is I'm feeling to anyone that would listen, I will write it down instead and see if it helps. The one person I want to talk to isn't here right now and I'm not sure he would listen even if he were. He's so cold lately, but I can't really blame him._

Yuffie stopped writing for a moment and brushed the tears out of her eyes to clear her rapidly blurring vision. If nothing else, she realized that writing all this down would allow her to shed the tears she had been refusing to shed. And maybe _then_, she could begin the process of healing herself. Her pen began moving across the page once more.

_I lost the baby. Yes, I LOST the baby._ _It is no one's fault but my own. I didn't listen when Squall told me not to do something. I didn't take better care of myself. I am the one who lost the baby. And no matter what Aerith tells me, no matter how many times she says that anyone can have a miscarriage, no matter how many times she tells me it's not my fault, I still know that it is. _

_And I know that Squall feels the exact same way. I know he blames me. And he has reason to. I lost his child. While he was doing everything he could to protect me and keep me safe, I didn't listen to him and now I am paying the price. I have lost his child, my child, OUR child and I have lost him as well._

The tears were coming freely, demanding to be released now and streaming down her face, but Yuffie could not stop writing. She had to keep writing it all down. Since she couldn't vocalize any of these feelings to those around her, she had to keep writing to allow the release. It was like the tiny crack in the dam that eventually allows the whole thing to crash down.

_I miss him so much. I feel as though things wouldn't be as bad if he were here with me. I mean, I KNOW that losing the baby is a terrible thing, but having to go through this by myself, without him here to help me, is slowly killing me inside. Everyday, I sit and stare at the door, willing him to walk through there and just tell me everything's going to be okay, even if it is just a lie. I don't care about lies right now. I just need him here, with me, holding me, just HERE._

_Every night, in the middle of the night, I dream of him. It's the same dream every night. He comes in silently through the door and stands over the bed, just looking down at me. And his eyes look so pained, but he still just looks down at me. And, then, he leans over, so close I can feel his breath even though it is just a dream and he gently brushes his hand through my hair before kissing my cheek. I know it's just a dream, but it feels so real. _

_So many times I've thought he was really there, only to turn my head after he kisses my cheek to find myself alone in the room. And this loneliness is slowly killing me. Is it so wrong to want him here with me? Is it so wrong to want him to lie to me and tell me it's going to be okay? Why did any of this happen?_

_Those same questions go through my mind every day, every hour, every minute, every second. And I can never answer them. The only thing I can answer is that it's my fault and I am being punished. Punished for the first thought that went through my head when Aerith told me I might be pregnant._

_I didn't want this baby at first. I was sixteen and I was scared and I spent most of that day asking myself why I was pregnant. But, when I told Squall, and he was so happy, it was kind of contagious. And I started to want this baby. Even if I only was sixteen when I became pregnant, it just felt so right with Squall there to support me. Even when I had my doubts as to whether I could do this, Squall never had them. He was always so excited about this baby._

_And, now, now that I want this baby, it's gone. Ripped away in one instant. And I find myself asking instead of why was I pregnant to begin with, why I'm NOT pregnant now. What did I do wrong? Was it simply because I didn't want it at first? Did I anger some deity that I'm ignorant of? _

_I suppose I'm not meant to be happy. Some people are. I just wish that I could somehow make Squall happy once more. He's been through so much and he deserves to be happy. He deserved this child, but I guess I wasn't the one meant to carry it. I can only hope that he will find happiness once more. I know that I can't. There is no happiness for me if Squall is not here by my side. But I won't ask him to come back to me. I don't deserve his forgiveness_, _I don't deserve him. I'm the one who lost his child. _

_Aerith doesn't know that I know, but she's pregnant. I think she's trying to keep it from me, but it's kind of obvious when she starts to turn green and makes a run for the bathroom every hour or so. At first, I thought she just had a stomach virus or something, but when it persisted for over a week, I knew she was pregnant._

_I'll admit it. I was jealous of her. Actually, to be honest with myself, I still am jealous of her. Why does she get to have a baby when I don't? Of course, her pregnancy could end just as easily as mine abruptly did. But I don't want that to happen to her. No one deserves to go through what I've been through, especially Aerith. Even when she drove me insane when she found out about Squall and I, I still love her and I don't want her to be unhappy. And I hate myself so much for being jealous. I shouldn't be. If anyone deserves to be happy, she does. She went for nine years never knowing if Cloud were dead or alive. And now she has the chance to have a perfect family... just like I thought I would have._

_But it's no use looking at the yesterdays and wondering what could have been and what should have been. It's too late for that. And I am just stuck here, alone in my room, wondering what I did wrong and knowing that I, alone, am the one who lost the baby. I am solely to blame. And nothing anyone can say will change that._

Yuffie stretched the sleeve of her sweatshirt out and used it to wipe the tears off her face. Actually, it wasn't her sweatshirt, she had stolen it from Squall ages ago and just now realized that it was his, causing her tears to increase. She missed him. That's all there was to it. She missed Squall and needed him. And staying in this room, where so many things reminded her of him, was driving her insane. Everywhere she looked, she saw something that was his or something that he had placed a certain way or something that just reminded her of him.

Shaking her head, Yuffie threw the covers off herself and walked to the closet, yanking the door open and pulling out the coat Squall had made for her birthday. As she slipped it on over her clothes and tied it tightly around her waist, it felt almost like Squall was holding her. He had put so much of himself into it when making it.

Before she could stop herself, the ninja slipped out of the room and silently descended the stairs. She passed the open door of the library unnoticed, where most of the Hollow Bastion residents rested, save for Squall and Yuffie. At the main door of the bastion, she paused, wondering how she would open the door without it creaking. But, realizing that it was impossible to do so, she simply opened it a crack and slithered through the crack.

The solitude of Rising Falls was waiting for her. If Squall could find solace in the waterway beneath the castle, Yuffie believed that she could surely find the same at the Rising Falls. And if not, then she would simply end it all and find solace in death.

* * *

Squall couldn't stand it any longer. It had been two weeks since he had held Yuffie and the physical need to just hold her in his arms was overwhelming. For the past two weeks, he had been spending his days in the waterway beneath the castle and his nights on the couch in the library. He couldn't bring himself to share a bed with Yuffie when he couldn't even look at her without feeling he had failed her.

The couch in the library offered little comfort to him at night, the warmth of her body pressed against his missing. And staying in the library only reminded him of the night he had finally found her months ago when she had run away from him. He needed her, even if she didn't want him, he needed her. And if begging for forgiveness was what it took, then he would drop to his knees and plead with her, bargain with her, do _anything_ if she would only forgive him for not protecting her like he should have.

The fact that there was really no way to protect her from what had happened didn't cross his mind. He only knew that he had failed her somehow and had let something hurt her. And it hurt him as well. After all, it was not only Yuffie he had failed to protect, but also his child. Squall decided that perhaps this was a sign that he was not meant to be a father, for if he was unable to protect his child before it was even _born_, how would he protect as it grew?

As Squall ruminated all this, he was slowly making his way towards the bedroom he had shared with Yuffie by way of the lifts. In the past two weeks, he had only been in that room for a few minutes each night, just to sift his fingers through her hair and gently kiss her cheek. He believed she would never allow him in there if she knew, so steeped in his self-blame, never thinking that she was feeling the same.

He finally reached the bedroom, finding the heavy, oaken door shut. Without knocking, he slowly pushed it open, hoping to find her in there. Squall hadn't even thought about the fact that she might not be in there, so intent on finding her _right now_. But, as the door slowly creaked open, it revealed that the room was empty, the blankets on the bed a rumpled mess.

Sighing, Squall stepped into the room and sat on the edge of the bed; Yuffie's scent lingered in here. Orange blossom wafted to his nose and he breathed deeply. He missed that scent, the one he would smell each night as he slept with her in his arms.

He lay down on the bed, stretching out and deciding that the easiest thing to do since the castle was so large would be to wait for her to return here. With all the rooms, hidden and not so hidden, he would never be able to find her. Waiting would be the best thing to do.

But, as he lay there, he noticed a blue notebook lying open on the bed with a pen resting atop it. He immediately recognized the handwriting as hers, no one else had that distinct meshing of both script and print which made it both elegant and childish at the same time. His eyes scanned over the page, widening larger and larger as they fell across the passages where she talked of blame and how much she missed Squall.

Revelation suddenly hit him. The whole time he was blaming himself for her miscarriage, Yuffie was blaming herself as well. And he quickly realized that just as he didn't blame her, she didn't blame him either. Everything was just a big mistake. The past two weeks, which should have been spent comforting each other, had been spent apart with no one able to actually comfort them. Sure, the rest of the Hollow Bastion residents had tried, but they didn't really know the pain felt by Yuffie and Squall.

Squall jumped off the bed, intent on finding Yuffie _now_, even if it meant he had to shout for her at the top of his lungs while he ran from room to room. He couldn't let her go on thinking that he blamed her. And now that he knew she didn't blame him, it felt as if a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It still hurt to know their child was dead, and, inside, he still blamed himself, but knowing that she didn't blame him, had never blamed him, helped to intensify his need to rectify the situation.

Just as he was about to leave the room, he noticed the closet door was open and, upon closer inspection, that the coat he had made her was gone as well. That helped to rule out the interior of the Bastion as her current hiding place, unless she had gone to the waterway beneath the castle. But, as Squall had just come from there and had not passed her on his way, he assumed she wouldn't be there. That left Rising Falls and beyond. But, one had to first go through Rising Falls and he hoped to find her there.

Squall ran down the stairs, ignoring the shouts from the library as the residents saw him race past. He had no time for them as of right now, only time for Yuffie. In an instant, he was out the door and already at the transportation crystal that would take him to Rising Falls.

Upon arrival at the platform, he raised a hand to his eyes to block out the glaring sun as he looked into the distance, checking each floating ice platform for her small figure. A small black dot graced the furthest platform, easing closer to the edge of the ice and peering over. Squall's body reacted long before his brain and he started jumping from platform to platform to reach her. It was the fastest he had ever crossed the Rising Falls.

"Yuffie," he panted as he finally reached her floating platform. She was precariously close to the edge and still peering over it, staring numbly at the ice hundreds of feet below. Upon hearing her name, he watched as she slowly turned to him, her indigo eyes dead and completely devoid of what used to be their normal perkiness and liveliness. "What are you doing out here?"

"I... I... really don't know," the ninja murmured softly, dropping her eyes from his. She couldn't bear to stand under his scrutiny right now, knowing that she was to blame for the loss of their child. "I just wanted to get out of the castle and... and... it's so quiet here and so peaceful..."

There was something she didn't want to say, he could read it in her body language and in the brief moment their eyes had met. There was something she was afraid to say and he feared he knew what it was by the way she had been looking over the edge. "Yuffie," he said once more, taking a couple steps closer to her. "What were you _going_ to do out here?"

Tears started streaming down her face now, unheeded, unstoppable. "I think I was planning... planning on jumping," she whispered, looking over her shoulder to see the icy edge that was mere footsteps away. "I'm not sure anymore. I'm not sure about anything anymore." The last part was said so softly that Squall scarcely heard the words. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself as though that were the only thing keeping her from shattering into a hundred pieces.

"Don't." That was all he said. And it was enough. Yuffie nodded vaguely, her tears turning into sobs and making her gasp for air. "I read your notebook," Squall told her, taking another careful step towards her, wanting to run to her, but afraid she would get scared in her current condition.

Her head snapped up at his admission, her indigo eyes wide. "You read that?" the ninja hissed, reaching up a hand to wipe away some of the relentless tears. "Squall, how could you? That's like reading someone's diary."

"If I hadn't, you'd still be out here alone," Squall said simply, taking another cautious step towards her. At her silent nod, he continued. "Yuffie, I don't blame you for what happened."

"Then where have you–." He interrupted her before she could finish her question.

"I blamed myself for not protecting you," he whispered softly, dropping his head now in guilt, both for not protecting her and for not being there for her. "I failed you, Yuffie. I failed _you._" A few tears were squeezed out from his closed eyes, hidden by the mahogany bangs that fell across his lowered face. Two small arms wrapped around his waist and a petite body was pressed up against him, holding him, hugging him, telling him that it was okay, that it wasn't his fault. "Yuffie–."

"Just hold me, Squall. Just hold me," Yuffie rasped, burying her face into his chest, not caring if her tears soaked through the material and wetted his skin in this frigid weather. The simple fact that he didn't blame her and that he was _here_, with her, right now, holding her, was enough.

Squall dropped his face to her shoulder, his tears sliding off his face and onto her neck. "Yuffie, I... I failed you and the baby... And I didn't know what to do after that," he whispered into her shoulder. "I wasn't there when you needed me the most and I'm _sorry, _so _sorry_, Yuffie."

"Shh," Yuffie soothed quietly through her own tears, moving her hand to gently stroke the nape of his neck. "It's not your fault, Squall. You aren't the one who lost the baby. I didn't... I didn't let you take care of me. I was too headstrong and stubborn," she sobbed even as she tried to console him.

"But, it _is _my fault, Yuffie," Squall insisted, his voice slightly muffled by her shoulder. "I'm the one who got you pregnant to begin with. I nearly lost _you_ because I was stupid enough to not think about it before. You could have _died_ that night, Yuffie. And it would have been all _my _fault."

Not knowing what to say, Yuffie simply held onto him and let him cry on her shoulder as she still stroked the nape of his neck. Finally, Squall lifted his head from her shoulder and hugged her tightly to him, resting his chin on the top of her head, placing a kiss upon the soft, ebony hair. "I'm here, Squall. And I'm not going anywhere," she finally whispered, his grip tightening around her. "Just as long as you're here with me, I'm not going anywhere."

The cold, icy wind whipped around them, but neither noticed as they held onto the other. Knowing that the other didn't blame them, had never blamed them for the death of their child was enough. They stayed out there on the platform, in each other's arms, until the sky darkened and the threat of freezing to death forced them to separate enough to make their way back to the Bastion. Even though they still mourned for their unborn child, they knew things would eventually get better as long as they still had each other.

* * *

_Author's Note: Okay, that is the unofficial end of the story. I'll put up an epilogue within the next few days... maybe tomorrow night. It depends on how much stuff I have to do. My brother, his wife, and their FOUR kids are visiting right now, so... yeah... not much might get done. Anyways, thank yous will be with the epilogue. _


	7. Epilogue: Two Years Later

_Author's Notes: Not much to say up here. Extensive notes at the end._

_–Disclaimer: I do not own them. I never have owned them. I never will own them. Satisfied? My dreams of ever having Squall here in my room have just flown out the window._

* * *

_Epilogue: Two Years Later_

It was the middle of the night and Yuffie was lying curled up against Squall's side, her head resting on his shoulder and one hand lying atop his bare chest. On her the third finger of her left hand there was a thin, silver band with a small emerald set into it. It had taken Squall three months to work up his nerve again after the miscarriage. But he had finally asked the ninja to marry him and a month after that, they were wed in a small ceremony outside with the May sun of the Bastion world shining down on them and the spring flowers in the nearby field providing a colorful backdrop to the scene.

A year after that, Yuffie found herself once again nervously telling Squall that she was late and feeling nauseous the past few days. Her nervousness wasn't caused by the fear of his reaction, but rather the painful remembrance of what had happened nearly a year and a half ago. By then, Aerith's baby had been born, a blonde haired, green-eyed boy who was about six months old at the time. Both Yuffie and Squall adored the baby and had felt the urge to have their own, but were both afraid of a repeat of the year before.

But, after having Aerith confirm their suspicions with the infamous rabbit test, Yuffie and Squall accepted the news with both excitement and worry. Squall became even more protective of his ninja than he had been before, never letting her out of his sight and doing _everything _for her. And Yuffie let him take care of her and tried not to do _anything_ strenuous. Secretly, they still blamed themselves but wouldn't tell the other.

After the first three months of her pregnancy, Yuffie's worry decreased slightly as she was out of what Aerith had termed the "danger zone." But she was still worried, nonetheless, as was Squall, who still followed his young wife everywhere to protect her.

During her fifth month of pregnancy, the baby kicked for the first time, sending the plate of crackers Yuffie had resting on her stomach all over the bed. After that incident, she quickly learned that putting _anything_ on her stomach would result in a mess. But, being able to actually feel the baby move within her had soothed her worries even more, as they did for Squall as well, who would keep his hands resting on her stomach whenever he could, just to feel the baby kick.

They still argued over whether it was a girl or a boy, Squall still wanting a girl and Yuffie wanting a boy. But, the slightly primitive village around Hollow Bastion didn't have the technology for a sonogram, so they could only place bets and wait patiently for the remaining months of her pregnancy to pass.

They did. And it was in the middle of an icy cold January night when Yuffie awoke to contractions, which in turn woke Squall up when she gripped his arm so tightly that her fingernails dug into the flesh, leaving small, crescent-shaped indentations. What followed after was a long eight hours of labor for Yuffie, which seemed to last a lifetime, and a long eight hours of Squall's hand being crushed as Yuffie held onto it and threatened to maim him for getting her pregnant in the first place.

But, in the end, it was all worth it when Aerith had handed that small, pink blanket-wrapped bundle to the new parents. It was a girl with her father's deep blue eyes and mahogany hair, but her mother's delicate features. They named her Kaori Yuki for her beauty and for the snow that fell in soft flurries when she was born.

And, now, two weeks later, Yuffie was curled up into Squall's side in the middle of the night, sleeping soundly when the wailing cry from the room next door woke her up. Groggily, she raised her head and nudged Squall. "Squall, your daughter's crying," she sleepily slurred, nudging him again, a little harder this time.

"I thought she was your daughter?" Squall replied dazedly, still half asleep.

"When she's crying, she's your daughter," Yuffie mumbled, rolling away from him and tiredly climbing to her feet. She hadn't had a good night's sleep in she couldn't remember how long. Even before Kaori was born, her kicks in the middle of the night would awaken Yuffie. The new mother scampered through the connecting doorway to the baby's room; the door had been left open so they could hear her if she started to cry.

Yuffie gently picked her up and cradled her to her chest, making soft cooing noises to help soothe the baby. So intent upon the baby in her arms, the ninja didn't even realize that Squall had come into the room until she felt his arms wrap around her waist and his chin rest on her shoulder as he looked down at Kaori. "Is she okay?" he breathed into Yuffie's ear before placing a soft kiss on the sensitive flesh below it.

"Yes, she was just scared," Yuffie whispered back, the baby in her arms around quieting and nearly back to sleep again. "I'm afraid she'll wake up if I put her down, though." Tired, and stifling a yawn, Yuffie leaned back against Squall's strong chest and closed her eyes for just a moment.

Seeing that his wife was nearly falling asleep as she stood there, Squall tightened his hold on her waist to keep her from falling and nuzzled her soft, ebony hair. "Yuffie, just bring her to bed with us," he murmured into her hair, placing a kiss there as he did so.

"Are you sure?" Yuffie yawned, not even trying to stifle it this time. Squall didn't vocalize an answer, but instead gently tugged at her waist as he led her back to their room. Reaching the bed, the ninja watched as Squall slipped under the covers and scooted closer to the edge so Yuffie and Kaori would have plenty of room. Yuffie slid in next to him, her back against his chest and Kaori lying in front of her. She sighed when Squall's arm came around her waist; she felt the safest when she was in his arms. Turning her head, she leaned up and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Squall. I love you," she murmured.

His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her just that little bit closer to him, and he rested his cheek atop hers so he could gaze upon their sleeping daughter. "I love you, too, Yuffie. And Kaori," he whispered as he struggled to keep his eyes open, not wanting to take them off their daughter.

* * *

_And that's a wrap. First of all, let me get my thank yous out of the way._

_A big thank you goes to all my reviewers. That would be (in no particular order whatsoever):_

_Rednight-rider_

_mangagakaz_

_CrescentStrata_

_Aoi-butterfly– :::nervous laughter::: I kinda forgot all about Yoshi in Blind Instinct... uh... we'll just pretend that Aerith set him free before she and Cid came to Hollow Bastion at the end_

_Bella_

_Mistress Arianna_

_SetsuntaMew_

_Ellyrianna_

_bituin_

_Emrelle Moon Elendal_

_anonymous_

_DivineRoseKeeper_

_Anime Author_

_Zarrel's Darkside_

_Hybrid Rainbow_

_ghettotaku_

_classengurl_

_Yuffie Kisaragi2_

_xXRiku's SweetheartXx_

_Lorok_

_October Breeze_

_HamstaMasta_

_QwickSilver_

_Taryn_

_bored person_

_night deluxe_

_pingpong867_

_apie_

_Soralover1_

_Regno Cuore_

_Nsane Selphie_

_Ezri-Candy_

_BlueEyedDemon1_

_And my big Mega-Thanks goes to Vulpes Lapis. She helped me with a lot of the stuff in this story. She always does. So, I command thee to go read and review her stuff. She just updated "How Do I Loathe Thee?" about a week ago. So, GO READ IT!! hehe..._

_Anyways, I wanted to do so much more with this story when I first started writing it, but I wasn't able to do it. I can only do angst for so long before I HAVE to have the fluff. So, I hope I ended this story okay..._

_And I already have another story that's been bugging me for a few weeks now. A pseudo-songfic to "On the Way Down." I'm going to try and start it after I get a few chapters of "Honor Amongst Thieves" written. Yeah, HAT is my BIG story as of right now. _

_I'm rambling. I always do this in my ending story notes. _

_Okay, I'm shutting up now. The PS2 and FFX-2 is calling my name. I haven't had a chance to play it all week... so, yeah...._


End file.
